


Codename Samael

by fandom_heaven



Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Human AU, Human Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer TV), Hurt/Comfort, Lucifer AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2019-04-29
Packaged: 2019-06-26 09:15:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15660225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandom_heaven/pseuds/fandom_heaven
Summary: It was over. Lucifer was staring at the body in the middle of their current crime scene. He knew that it had only been a matter of time until his past came back to haunt him, but he had hoped that he would have had more than a couple of years...- What if Lucifer was actually an operative and came up with his identity due to his past? (AU)





	1. Chapter 1

_It was over._

Lucifer was staring at the body in the middle of their current crime scene. He knew that it had only been a matter of time until his past came back to haunt him, but he had hoped that he would have had more than a couple of years.

Unfortunately, the marks on the body in front of him were telling a different story. There was no possibility that these were not from them. He knew those marks well, he bore them himself. He had thought that there was no one left in the group, but apparently someone had once again worked sloppily. Someone had royally screwed up, he just hoped that the responsible party was punished accordingly.

But for him this was it. It had been fun while it lasted, but it was over. His life here was done. There was no way that this wouldn't end with him having to leave. He should come up with an explanation, he just couldn't move.

Lucifer was staring at the body, but he wasn't seeing it anymore. He was once again trapped in his memories. He didn't hear Ella stop her preliminary report and look at him. Chloe had turned around as well when Ella just stopped in the middle of her sentence to stare at Lucifer. They were now both trying to get his attention, but his eyes were glazed over and he wasn't really there anymore.

*****************************************

He had been good at his job. No, he had been the best. He worked the hardest jobs, the ones no one else thought to be possible, the ones that had been classified as suicidal. And he always pulled through and accomplished his mission.

The operative named _Samael_ was a myth to most people. There were those people that feared him and those that admired him. Those who did meet him also told stories about his actions that no one in their right mind would believe, so the myth persisted. People thought that he was immortal and invincible.

He liked his life and he never questioned it, but that all changed.

It was supposed to be one of the easier jobs he had done in his life. That didn't mean that he didn't give his complete attention to it, but it shouldn't have been overly complicated or long. But apparently someone had been given bad intel. The one thing that you need for a successful mission is a team that doesn't leave you hanging and apparently someone had messed up. What should have been a short recon ended in a bloodbath.

He was ambushed by a large group of mercenaries and even though some people thought so, he was no miracle worker. They were all well-trained and waiting for him. He didn't stand a chance. That didn't mean that he gave up without a fight. But in the end he was heavily wounded, bleeding badly and a swinging bat was the last he saw before it went dark for him.

For the next days all he knew was pain. They had kidnapped him to get intel, however he was trained by the best. He knew all the tricks in the book and outside of it. He knew the limits of the human body and he knew ways to reach them and break them. Normally he would have probably been long dead, but by his sheer will he held on.

And when he finally got rescued, no one had thought that he was still alive. The moment the first friendly faces came through the door, he had smiled for the first time in what felt like days, but he later found out that it had been weeks in captivity. They were all shocked by the amount of damage that had been done to him and when the first trained medic had started to try to patch him up, he had let go.

When he woke up again, he was surprised that he was still alive. He was in a hospital hooked up to a lot of medical equipment. When he registered that his breathing was being aided by a ventilator and that he couldn't move, he panicked. The moment a nurse entered, attracted by the alarms, he knew that he had missed something. He had been in a coma on life support for weeks and they had thought that he would never wake up again. But he had once again proven everybody else wrong.

It was a long and harrowing process to get back on his feet. They made him see a psychiatrist the moment he could talk again. After months of physical therapy, he was able to walk out of the hospital on his own two legs. Something everybody called a miracle.

He was debriefed on the situation. During the supposed recovery mission, which had turned into a rescue mission, they had rounded up all the members in the group present at the site. In the following months they had searched and found all other remaining members. And the responsible parties were punished accordingly.

They had told him that he couldn't go back to his former job because of his injuries, but he knew better. He was too weak, they were scared he would break under the pressure or that he had already been broken. Some of his scars would never heal. His flashbacks didn't help either. The agency stood above any government and when he started questioning the authority and the reasoning behind some of the decisions that were being made, they shoved it aside and blamed it on his experience.

When they told him that his new job was to be warden of their prison he didn't know what to think. After everything that had happened they were going to punish him like this? But he didn't really have a choice in the matter. So, he went to work.

He learnt very fast that being warden of a prison island in the middle of the ocean was more work than he anticipated and a lot more hands on than he had thought.

After witnessing what was being done to the prisoners, he asked himself why they decided to let him run this place. He knew how being tortured felt. Did they want him to be more lenient or less lenient because he knew what monsters were out there?

Prisoners and personal alike called the prison _hell_ and he had to agree that the name was fitting. No one could leave this place. Few prisoners tried. No one ever succeeded. During one of the prisoner's escape attempts, he met Maze. She was one of the wardens that helped to contain the prisoners and he liked her attitude.

When he decided to quit his job as the custodian of humanity's scum, he asked Maze to leave with him and she agreed.

He arrived in Los Angeles to start a new life and for that he needed a new identity. That was the moment _Lucifer Morningstar_ was born. He saw the irony in the situation and found it fitting. He opened a nightclub, called it _Lux_ and lived his life to the fullest, like he had never done before. He built a reputation for something new. It was fun. But something was still missing.

He found it in Detective Chloe Decker.

After his friend Delilah was shot to death outside of his nightclub, he swore to himself that he would find her killer. During the following police investigation, he met the detective. She was an enigma and he liked her from the start. 

He didn't remember when he became comfortable with using his skills for police work, but at one point they had become partners and friends. This would probably all end now.

*****************************************

"-cifer! Lucifer! Hey!" He came back to himself as Chloe tried to touch him. He flinched away the moment she made contact with his arm. His breathing had become more rapid and when he tried to look at Chloe, all he could see were blurs. After blinking a couple of times, he could make out Chloe's concerned face.

She was still talking to him. "Lucifer, are you okay?", he wanted to laugh at her, because if he didn't, he would probably start crying any second. But he did neither.

"I'm fine", he shook his head once and then tried for his typical smile. It probably fell a mile short by the expression on her face. He didn't want her to be concerned, especially not about him. He would have to leave her, and that realization hurt more than he would have thought possible. He really liked working with her. But this was going to be it, at least for him.

Or maybe there still was the possibility of getting this done without dredging up his past. Who was he kidding? They probably already knew about this and had sent somebody to clean it up. He just hoped that the LAPD wouldn't get caught in the crossfire. He had started to like it here and he didn't want any innocent bystanders killed in this feud.

But for that he probably needed to solve this case as fast as possible. Hopefully they could go back to the status quo without them ever knowing about his past. But how were they going to solve this case without unearthing the whole story? He was pretty sure that was impossible and that his hope was futile. Well, hope lasts eternal, right?

"Back to the case." Lucifer turned back to Ella, hoping for her to catch up and not ask any more questions. She looked at him and then at Chloe who was still looking at him as if she could figure out what was wrong if she could just stare hard enough.

"Okay..." Ella was feeling the tension in the room, "as I said with my prelim I can't give you a definite C.O.D.. We'll have to wait for the autopsy, but I can definitely tell you that he was heavily tortured. It must have been too much for him, poor guy." Ella was once again looking at the body of the person tied to the chair in the middle of the warehouse. They were standing in one of the larger abandoned buildings close to the docks. "The deep wounds on his back alone look like they could have killed him. If not that, the blood loss must have already been critical judging by the amount of blood around the body. The marks on his upper torso suggest electroshocks and his fingers look like they have been broken and dislocated. Based on the body temperature, the T.O.D. seems to be between 4 and 6 am this morning. No witnesses."

Chloe had been following Ella's report closely after she had stopped looking at Lucifer. She was back to working the crime scene. "Do we know anything about the victim? Have you found any ID?" Ella shook her head. "No, no ID. We haven't found a phone or a wallet yet either. The fingerprints are not in the database. So, we have nothing."

Lucifer had a pretty good idea who it was, or at least what his job was, but he wasn't going to tell them. Otherwise he would have to explain why he thought they were investigating the murder of a spy or someone affiliated with an agency.

"Who found him?" Ella was looking towards one of the uniforms. "Two of the patrol guys were checking the abandoned warehouses. One is a trainee and the instructor wanted him to affiliate himself with the area while also getting in a training session on how to clear a building. Since these warehouses have been abandoned for so long he thought it might be a good idea. They found the body and called it in. If they hadn't had been here nobody probably would have found the body for some time. Lucky for us, I guess."

"Okay, since we don’t have the identity of our murder victim at the moment we need to work on that. Unis should canvass the area, they might find some of his belongings or something that can tell us more about what happened here. He must have had enemies. Someone did this to him on purpose. What were they looking for? Did he have any kind of information they wanted? And what were they doing here? They apparently wanted privacy and didn't want to be overheard or the body to be found" Chloe was thinking out loud. Lucifer had always admired her way of jumping to the correct conclusions and she seemed to have come as close to the truth as possible with so little information.

"If there is nothing else, let's go back to the precinct and try to figure out our vic's movements in the last couple of days. We might find something on the surveillance cameras in the area. Maybe we'll get lucky and get a shot of our suspects. Thanks Ella!" Chloe was turning around to get back to the car and Lucifer followed her. He just hoped that she wouldn't want to talk about his reaction to the crime scene.

*****************************************

Why was he always hoping for something impossible? Obviously Chloe tried to ask him again the second they were in the car. 

"Hey, what was that back there?"

Lucifer was annoyed at himself that he hadn't taken his own car to the crime scene this morning. If he had done so, he wouldn't be stuck in a car with a noisy detective now.

"As I said, I'm fine."

"Sure, then why were you as a white as a ghost? You still look quite spooked."

Lucifer really didn't want to get into this, especially not in the car. He needed some time to digest it all and to come up with a reasonable enough explanation that would satisfy the detective and her curiosity. He did what he did best, he tried to divert her attention.

"Oh, I didn't know you payed this close attention to my body. Do you want to see more of it?"

Chloe realized what he was doing, but she had worked with him long enough to know that if he reacted like this there was no way of getting any more information out of him. She respected his decision to not talk about this and rolled her eyes. Her usual reaction when Lucifer made sexual innuendos. She filed the information for later and kept on driving to the precinct.

In the meantime, Lucifer was once again trying to figure out how it had come to this. The victim had been tortured for some time by the looks of it. Had he broken and given up whatever the torturers wanted or had his body given out before that happened? And what kind of information did they want? If this had been a spy, then there was a mission in danger and whoever they worked for would probably get involved. 

When Chloe stopped the car, Lucifer realized that they had arrived at the precinct. Before she could ask any more questions, he was already getting out of the car. They had work to do.

*****************************************

Amenadiel was standing in the middle of the precinct. He couldn't believe it. He didn't believe it, but even after blinking a couple of times, Amenadiel was still standing in the precinct and he was wearing a suit. 

While Lucifer was still active Amenadiel had been one of his handlers and even though they always bickered like brothers, they were a very good team and Amenadiel was one of his old colleagues he missed the most. But he had never worked outside. He had never gotten his hands dirty. What was he doing here? He was dresses to perfection and he was radiating power. Had they really sent him? He wasn't sure whether he was happy to see Amenadiel again or angry that they knew where he was and had sent one of the only people that would be able to talk to him. How was he going to explain this to Chloe who was still sitting behind him, going through some documents, not having noticed that he had stopped paying attention.

Before he could once again panic, the lieutenant came out of her office.

“Decker, my office.” Chloe was already standing up. She looked at Lucifer. “Coming?”

He hurried after her upon seeing that Amenadiel was also starting towards the lieutenant’s office.

How would Amenadiel play this? Was he going to destroy his life here with one sentence? Or was he going to pretend that they didn't know each other?

Chloe had already slipped inside the office when he arrived and was standing next to the lieutenant’s desk. He had just stepped next to Chloe when Amenadiel also came through the door. The lieutenant was already walking towards him.

"Agent Smith, I presume?", she was already shaking his hands. “Yes, Agent Smith, NSA. Nice to meet you”, Lucifer saw the tight smile on his face. This was the way he was going to do this. He was using the direct approach. It was going to be given to a different agency based on jurisdiction. Probably one of the cleanest ways to get this investigation dropped. He was not going to complain. Maybe this way he could get out of this unscathed. Their investigation was over, and he could go on as if nothing had happened.

“I just had a call from the higher ups to give you our John Doe on the docks.” With that she turned to Chloe. “This is the lead detective on the case, Detective Chloe Decker. She will give you all the information you need."

Chloe shook his hand as well. "I will be taking over your current case. Since this is a security matter, I will need all your case files and reports.”

“Yes, sure. The files are on my desk. Lieutenant, anything else?” When the lieutenant negated the question, the three of them left her office.

When they reached her desk, Chloe collected the papers and handed over the case file. Since they had received the case not that long ago it wasn’t a lot. “You know who our murder victim is?”

Amenadiel took the file. He didn’t seem to be very happy with that line of questioning. “Yes.”

Chloe was staring at Amenadiel and Lucifer had the feeling that she was looking for something.

“Was he one of yours?” Amenadiel blinked. Apparently, he was not used to a headstrong detective that was not immediately intimidated by his presence and could connect the dots. Lucifer had gotten used to it, but it showed him once again that Chloe was special. Amenadiel looked like he was trying to figure out where she was going with this and contemplated whether to answer her question. He seemed to have reached his conclusion when he answered.

“Agent Richards had an assignment in LA. We will take the necessary steps to determine what happened, but please understand that I cannot give you any more information at this point.”

Chloe seemed to be a bit more satisfied with the answer. “Thank you.”

Lucifer could imagine that she just wanted to know that her John Doe would not remain an unclaimed corpse in the morgue. He recognized that she always put a lot of effort into every case so that every victim would get their justice. In this case she would not see the result, but maybe she could now breathe a little easier knowing that she hadn’t let their latest murder victim down. Lucifer hoped that Amenadiel would find the people responsible, but that was not their problem anymore.

“That will be all. Detective Decker", Amenadiel nodded his head and for the first time turned to Lucifer to acknowledge him. His smile turned a little more tender. "Sam", with that he turned around and left the building.

_Bloody hell._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was written as a one shot and I’m not planning on continuing at the moment. If I ever find the inspiration and time to continue I might.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now as I said, never say never...  
> Inspiration took hold and here it is. A continuation of this story. I tried to stay close to the original series. I hope I got the characterizations right.

_Bloody hell!_

_He did not just..._

Lucifer‘s panicked glance in Chloe’s direction met with the slightly bewildered look of hers. His short hope that she might not have heard him, flew out the window. 

In that moment, Lucifer wanted to run, not only because he didn’t want to answer her arising questions, but also because he had the sudden urge to throttle Amenadiel.

“Did he just call you ‘Sam’? What’s going on. Do you know Agent Smith?”

There were alarm bells ringing in his head. He prided himself on never lying. He had seconds to decide on his course of action. Would he break his one solemn oath to never lie, especially not to her. People in ‘hell’ had always called him the devil and he had adapted. 

Attack was the best defense, or in this case, sexual innuendo. You don’t have to lie, if you deflect. 

“Well, I’m always up for role playing. Civil servants do have handcuffs and ...”, he started with a salacious grin. 

But Chloe’s confused face changed more and more into resignation. She obviously didn’t believe him, and she seemed to be disappointed that he wouldn’t give her a straight answer.

*****************************************

She sensed that he had once again closed off. She was surprised to realize that she was sad that he wouldn’t tell her. They had already experienced a lot together and she just wanted him to open up to her. 

Today, he had scared her at the crime scene when she couldn’t get his attention. She had almost wanted to shake him out of wherever he had gone. She wanted to know why that crime scene had left him so shell-shocked, because he was normally not shaken by anything. Some crime scenes had turned her stomach and he hadn’t even blinked, but this one was special in some way. It was gruesome, not more so than some others they had seen, but he had taken one look at the body and froze. When she had looked into his eyes, she had wanted to cry. He looked like he was experiencing the most horrible pain and she could do nothing to help him. 

When they had started to work together - very reluctantly on her part - she had never thought that they could make a good team. He was an arrogant and childish egomaniac, but she soon realized that that was only a front. He seemed to care for the victims and the voice in her head that insisted that there was more to him got louder and louder. 

During their very first case, he had saved her life. She still didn’t know what he did to Jimmy Barnes after he had shot her, but Barnes had confessed to everything he had done, and he had been scared to death when she had mentioned Lucifer.

When she had tried to figure out who he really was - because Lucifer? No way! - she only ever reached dead ends. She had had various theories. None of them seemed very realistic and none panned out. But there was no paper trail. He just appeared five years ago. No one had heard of him before that. That was not a simple task. How could he have erased his whole life before he came to Los Angeles?

He was always tight lipped about his past, only sprouting nonsense about being the devil, leaving hell and retiring to Los Angeles. She didn’t understand why he couldn’t trust her and tell her the truth.

*****************************************

He had the feeling that he would be losing Chloe’s trust more and more if he was to continue this charade. It had come to the point where he had to decide if he could tell her the truth.

She had become important to him and he couldn’t keep this up with her forever.

His past was apparently bound to come up again and he was not yet sure that the case was over for them. Did he really want her to find out due to uninfluenceable circumstances? At this point, there was still the chance that she would understand if it came directly from him in a controlled environment, but she wouldn’t be so lenient if it came unexpectedly, possibly from a third party.

So, in that moment he decided to be honest with her. Tell her the whole truth and try to cope with what comes afterwards. If she never wanted to see him again, then he would have to leave. But she deserved the whole truth, even if she wouldn’t handle it well. She had seen some of his bad side, now she would finally see all of it. 

“Yes.” Now, Chloe was once again looking confused. “The answer to both of your questions is yes.” Chloe’s eyes narrowed like she didn’t know what was coming next, but she seemed to be waiting for more of an explanation. 

How should he do this? He couldn’t just come out and say it. She would never believe him. She had gotten glimpses of his real self, but this was still a large step. He had become good at playing the part of suave club owner. It was a sharp contrast to his old life which was a large reason why he had changed so much. He wanted nothing to do with it anymore. But this was now going to be his biggest problem. She would need some kind of evidence. The problem now was that as an apparent _immortal_ , he could have all the capabilities that he had trained for. His weapons and knowledge could be similarly explained away.

The only other person from his old life that could collaborate his story was his _demon_. Chloe had already met Maze and she had played her part well. At first, Maze had been opposed to leaving their life behind, but she had also seen the appeal and she had thrived in her role as his favorite demon (and bartender). She would need to be brought into the loop before telling Chloe, because it could also impact her life if he left. But since Chloe already thought that they were both delusional, it was not a very good option. She might just think that they had come up with another weird backstory.

That left him with only one possibility. He had to show her his scars. Those couldn’t be easily explained away, and they would explain to her why he was so horrified by the crime scene.

But they were still standing in the middle of the precinct. Nobody around them seemed to take note of them, even so he couldn’t under any circumstances show them to her surrounded by people.

*****************************************

She had just received a new piece of evidence. He knew an NSA agent. Why? She would wrack her brain trying to figure this out. And unlike his obvious redirection, this was not sexual. They had known each other and from Agent Smith‘s behavior, they must have been close.

“I want to tell you the truth, but not here. Come by LUX this evening.”

Would he finally tell her the truth? It seemed like he had reached a decision.

Lucifer was already getting up to leave. „I have to get going. LUX doesn’t run itself. See you later.“ Lucifer turned towards the exit.

She had the feeling he was running away, but he had to come up with a plan. 

Well, he never did the paperwork anyway.

***************************************** 

Lucifer arrived at LUX while Maze was still stocking the bar.

“Maze, we have to talk.”

He knew how ominous he sounded, but his nerves were already raw. Maze had already noticed that something was up with Lucifer. She put the last bottle on the shelf and turned around. Lucifer was standing in front of the bar. He seemed nervous. There was nobody else in the vicinity. She raised an eyebrow and turned around to pick up a bottle of alcohol and two glasses. Pouring both of them a drink, she acknowledged him with a nod and gave him her full attention.

“What’s going on?”

“We had a crime scene today that brought the agency around.”

If she had been drinking, Maze would have choked on her drink.

“What?”

“Yes, Amenadiel came around.”

“Oh. Did he blurt out the secret?”

“Kind of. He implied that we knew each other. He’s apparently now doing leg work.”

“Amenadiel? Wow, I never thought I would see the day.”

They both cracked a smile.

“So, what happened?”

“The organization is apparently still active. It seems like they killed an agent trying to get information out of him.”

Maze was one of the only people in the world still alive who knew what had happened to him and she was just as shocked as he had been when he told her that some members were still alive.

“But I thought they had been all rounded up?”

“Yes, me too. Apparently, they missed some.”

“What’s the plan?”

“I need to tell Chloe.”

Lucifer took a sip of his drink to let Maze digest that.

“What? No! Why?”

“She was around when Amenadiel came by. I can’t keep her in the dark much longer.”

“Why should she believe you? She will think you’re crazy… Well, crazier.”

“Thank you for the vote of confidence.”

Lucifer responded sarcastically.

“But I mean, seriously. Do you think that’s a good idea?”

Lucifer understood her doubts, but he had already made his decision.

“Yes, she needs to know, and she deserves to.”

“I won’t be able to change your mind, but you have to be sure. She can’t unknow it.”

“I know. I just wanted to give you a head’s up. And you might need to corroborate the story.”

“Yes, thank you. What will you tell her?”

Lucifer slummed in his seat.

“The truth. All of it. She will require evidence, so I will show her the scars.”

Maze was completely taken aback. She had tended to them, but he never wanted anybody else to see them. He was serious.

“Our victim was tortured. He had the wounds on his back. She will see the connection and realize the importance. I hope I will be able to convince her that way. She will come over later this evening.”

Maze nodded and poured him a second larger drink. He would need it for the upcoming hours.

She had met Chloe and Maze could only hope that she would accept them with their actual past. They had started to like it here in L.A. and he had seemed happier since starting to work with her. He deserved some happiness in his life after all that had happened.

*****************************************

Lucifer had gulped down his drink and taken one last look around the club. Everything was running well at the start of the evening, so he went up with the elevator. He had to start planning for Chloe’s arrival.

As the doors opened, Lucifer sensed that someone was in his penthouse. Even though that was not unusual, he was still on edge after having seen the crime scene. 

He had accustomed himself to always carrying weapons.

He still remembered when early on in their partnership, Chloe had patted him down looking for a bulletproof vest. 

His heart had almost stopped when he had thought one of his secrets had come out. He was never leaving the house without wearing his specially made bulletproof clothing and he had been surprised when she didn’t realize that his clothing was a bit thicker than normal. 

Afterwards he had become a little more cautious with wearing it and he had started to keep his weapons even more closely hidden. 

Even though he had retired, he had kept his personal items from the job. Sometimes he still felt like Batman with all his gadgets.

Now cautiously entering his own home, he drew his dagger. Even though most people would tell you to never bring a knife to a gunfight, Lucifer was more comfortable with them, since they were easier to conceal and had other advantages. 

Creeping forward, he turned right and when he saw who was leaning against the bar, he lowered his arm that had been ready to throw his weapon.

“Amenadiel? What are you doing here?“

Amenadiel had served himself one of his finer whiskeys and was smirking at his entrance: “Well, you‘re not out of practice. I‘ll give you that. You‘re instincts are still the sharpest I know.“

“What do you want?“, Lucifer had put the dagger back where it came from, concealing it almost immediately. He went to the bar and poured himself a drink. It looked like he would need it. 

“Can‘t I see hello to an old friend?“

Lucifer was evidently not amused at Amenadiel‘s antics.

“Tell me what you want or leave. I don’t have time for this.” 

He took a sip of his whiskey. 

“Oh, are you busy? Running a nightclub. Is that really what you want to do with the rest of your life? Partying?”

“Since when is that your business? I’m done with hell.”

“Ah, still with the metaphor. I see you used it to build your new life. Lucifer Morningstar. It’s a nice touch. Does Detective Decker know?”

“Leave her out of this!”

“Samael...”

“Don’t call me that! It's not my name anymore.”

Lucifer had gotten more and more enraged as the conversation continued, but he would not show it outwards. 

Amenadiel knew which buttons to push, he had always known. 

“Fine, fine. Agent Richards’ assignment is still ongoing. We found a cell here in L.A. that was not destroyed during the extermination procedure after you...”

Amenadiel faltered. 

“... were captured? You’re telling me that some of them are still active? I was promised that they were all captured or dead.”

Amenadiel was awkwardly looking at his glass. 

“That’s why I’m here. To warn you that they might come after you. To bring you back if needed.”

“I’m not leaving L.A.”

“You might have to. You don’t want to give them the chance to get to you. The collateral damage alone...”

“Oh, now you’re concerned about collateral damage?”

“Think about your contacts. What if they use Mazikeen?”

“Oh, believe me she can take care of herself.”

“And Detective Decker? She doesn’t know what she might be facing.”

“I will protect her!”

“You really believe that you can?”

Lucifer had to admit that Amenadiel had a point. He hadn’t been able to protect himself the last time. How was he supposed to protect both himself and Chloe? Now it was his turn to awkwardly stare at the ground. 

“No, you don’t. Let us help you. Come back. We can protect you there.”

Go back? He didn’t want to leave L.A. and he had sworn never to return. 

“I won’t go back. It’s your fault that they are still out there. Take care of it and leave me out of it. I’m not part of this anymore. I haven’t been for many years and they would have already taken action if they knew who I was.” 

Lucifer had made his decision. He was not leaving. He was not running away. 

He had closed that part of his life. 

Amenadiel realized that he would not be able to convince him. 

“They won’t be happy to hear that.”

“Let them.”

Lucifer turned towards the bar and refilled his drink. 

“Anything else?”

“No.”

“Then why are you still here?”

“It really is nice seeing you, Sam. I’m really happy that you were able to build up a good life here.”

Lucifer didn’t know how to answer. He had missed Amenadiel, but they had never been very touchy-feely.

“After everything that happened, I’m just glad that you were able to get out. You seem happy.” 

Amenadiel had started smiling softly. 

Lucifer was becoming less reserved. Sipping on his glass he answered with a soft smile. 

“Well, it was nice seeing you too.”

Amenadiel saw that as his command to leave. He put down his own whiskey glass and turned towards the elevator. Before he could enter, Lucifer spoke. 

“You know where I am. Don’t be stranger.”

Amenadiel turned around with a smile, nodded and then entered the elevator. 

As the doors closed, Lucifer turned back towards the bar and focused on his glass, lost in thought. 

_He needed a battle plan._


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the final chapter. Please enjoy!

He needed to come up with a plan. But what should he do? He didn't know how he could tell her the truth in a way that she would believe him. And even though he told Maze he would he would show them to Chloe, he didn't want to start with the scars. That would paint a completely wrong picture. So, he had to come up with a different idea.

After some pondering, he came with a plan. He could start by showing her his "badges".  Like all the other operatives and Amenadiel in this case as well, he had posed as an agent of many of the alphabet agencies in his time and he still owned many of his badges from all over the world. There was an understanding happening between all of them, so that he could actually be a part of any one of these agencies at any time. He had been special in a way, because he had been placed all over the world. His skill set had been invaluable for many tasks and contrary to many other operatives, he was not affiliated to any country since he spoke many languages.

His talent for basically everything had always seemed unnatural to others, but it had made his life in Los Angeles a lot easier. He spoke most of the world's languages, knew more fighting styles than he could possibly count, and he still owned most of the equipment from his active days. Many of his gadgets would fit right into the latest superhero's layer.

He would technically go against every rule they had by doing this little show and tell, but since when had that bothered him? Amenadiel didn't seem to have a big problem with his decision and all that it entailed.

He went to his hidden stash of badges and got out a couple of them, he didn't want to overwhelm her with the sheer number of badges he possessed. A few well-known American badges should suffice, he just needed to make sure that she wouldn't run all of his badge numbers, some things should definitely be left in the past. After grabbing a couple of his badges, he looked at the rest of his leftover stash. Apart from the clothing, that he always wore to protect him from weapons of all kinds, there was not much that he could really show her without giving out some of the most well-kept secrets in the spy world. 

His eyes fell on a file that he had always hoped to forget about. HIS file. At least a part of it. The part being his last case that went south. He didn't know what possessed him to keep it, because he never wanted to look at it again. He had obviously looked at the case file once when he was finally able to think straight again. There were pictures, pictures in which he would have never recognised himself. In the days leading up to his rescue, events followed in quick succession that made it almost impossible to keep them all on file. He had gotten the gist of it though. For once, someone from the other side had made a mistake with costly consequences. They had gotten a tip of a secret base and expecting to find enemy forces, they had planned accordingly. They had at most expected to find his body if they were lucky – it was sadly rather common to find nothing at all. What they didn't expect after weeks of radio silence was him being still alive. It had worked out in the end, although the years in  _Hell_  were nothing he had liked, he was here now, and he lived a life that he would have never expected even a few years ago. There was something that he had left behind in that base and he was rediscovering it here. He was happy again and even Amenadiel had noticed. 

His file could have been taken out of a good spy movie, even though parts of it were unbelievable. Some of his abilities seemed supernatural to the untrained eye, which he had to admit he often used to his advantage. But could he show this to Chloe? She would never look at him the same way again and he didn't want that. Would she think he was a monster? Or even worse a ruined man? He knew he was, but he didn't want  _her_  to know that. He wanted her to know the truth, but he couldn't stand it if she started to treat him like something fragile that would break under the smallest pressure. He wanted everything to stay the way it was, but he knew that that was impossible. Once she knew, she would see him for who he really was. 

He took the file out of its hiding place and put it next to his badges. He hadn't decided yet what to do with it. Under the file was his official record as an agent. Official being the relevant term. It was rather thin. This he could show her. It was technically a cover identity for his life in the United States as a British MI6 agent, but it was the cover he used the most and which he had gotten used to. It also came very close to the truth since he had been recruited before becoming an agent in his country. He had gone through the relevant qualification, so he knew exactly what he was doing at the LAPD. No one would ever believe him that for sure, but he was capable of being a detective. He just never really cared for the rules, since they changed from country to country. He had a moral code; it was just not one that was perfectly compatible with police procedures.

Holding the file in his hand, he tried to imagine her reaction. She would probably be upset, because he didn't follow procedures even though he was capable of that. Well, who was he kidding? If she would be angry, it would be because he hadn't told her the truth about his life. She probably knew by now that he didn't follow procedure, because he didn't want to. Being the devil or a spy, or not. It wouldn’t change that.

He grabbed his file and the badges but left his last case file. He just couldn't stomach her probable reaction.

Returning to his bar, he took another drink. Another thing that was incomprehensible was his alcohol tolerance. He could definitely hold his liquor. If he didn't know better, he would say he was the best functional alcoholic. But that wasn't true. He just didn't feel the influence until he had drunk a couple of bottles. Everybody else would have alcohol poisoning at that point.

Sometimes he wondered if he really was a human being, because he was not normal in many ways. He looked unassuming, but he could throw people twice his size through a window without breaking a sweat, actually had done so as well. Maze was the only one of his friends who knew what he was capable of and she was still surprised sometimes.

He had gotten so distracted contemplating the files, that he didn't notice the time passing. He had never told her when to be at LUX and a short look at the clock told him that she could be here any minute. He left the file and his badges behind the bar, but he took his badge from the NSA with him and tucked it into the pocket of his suit jacket. This one would be a good start since Amenadiel had introduced himself as such.

Grabbing a bottle of whiskey, he sat himself on his piano to take the edge of his agitation. Music had always calmed him down. Being able to play many instruments was another one of his talents, but he always favoured the piano. 

He lost himself in the music and only came back to himself, when the elevator doors opened.

*****************************************

While she was doing paperwork, she kept thinking about Lucifer.

His behaviour today worried her. His reaction to the crime scene was worrisome, but the one to the agent was flat out terrifying her. They knew each other and she didn't know from where. Every one of the possibilities that she came up with seemed more troubling than the last. But they seemed friendly, so her consideration that he had been on the run from the government was probably wrong. Agent Smith – if that was even his name, she was not stupid – had called Lucifer by another name. Maybe they knew each other when they were younger and that was his name? But why would Lucifer be this troubled if that was the case? She knew she was missing something. Lucifer had promised her answers and she was looking forward to knowing them. Having her thoughts running in circles was driving her crazy. 

She looked at the clock again. Another twenty minutes wasted chasing her thoughts. She would never get her paperwork done like this. Many detectives had already left for the evening. She could leave now and drive to LUX. He would tell her the truth, which would be something simple and understandable, and she could go back to her paperwork afterwards or tomorrow, when she could concentrate. Hopefully.

Having come up with a plan, she packed her things. Saying goodbye to the last few people still left at the precinct, she went to her car. 

In the middle of her ride to LUX, a thought struck her.  _What if they had worked together?_  It made sense. Contemplating that line of thought, she realised that it would explain many things. Maybe they had worked a similar case before, and he recognised the signs. He had never been squeamish – it had been strange for a civilian not to be moved by gruesome murder scenes, but his reaction to this crime scene resembled shock. He could interrogate suspects like a pro, and she had always wondered how he knew exactly what questions to ask. He had a strange relationship with violence. He was not a violent person, but if he thought someone deserved punishment, he was not above using force. She still remembered him throwing a suspect through a window and she still wasn't sure how he had done that. 

During their first case, when she had gotten shot, she was sure that he had gotten shot as well. But after proving to herself that he wasn't wearing a bulletproof vest, she hadn't been sure anymore. What if there was something that she missed?

The possibility of Lucifer as a government employee also gave her more questions. He never followed protocol. But it always seemed like he knew what he was doing, he just didn't care to follow procedures. Why did he tell everybody that he was the Devil, if he had led an ordinary life? Maybe not an ordinary one, but one with a stable job.

However, the longer she thought about it, the more it made sense to her. It was the only possible explanation she could come up with that would explain his reaction to the crime scene and to the agent.

The question that remained for her was  _Why_. Why would he tell elaborate lies to cover up his life? Why did he give that life up? Normally, when you started to work as an agent, you did not just leave that life. Something must have happened. Had he done something that forced him to retire? Or was this whole devil talk the result of an actual nervous breakdown? Was he an unstable individual not fit to work anymore? _No_. She couldn't believe that. Apart from this devil stuff he behaved mostly normal and if he was a danger to himself or others, whatever agency he worked for would have never let him leave. So, he must have left on his own. And she was back to _Why_. 

She was pretty sure that she was on the right track at this point. She had only a couple more blocks until she would arrive at LUX. She would listen to his explanation and she would get her answers.

Parking the car, she went inside with a short welcome to the staff at the door. They knew her well enough by now to let her into the nightclub even when there was already a long queue in front of the door.

Taking the elevator to his penthouse, she tried to steel herself for the answers she would most likely get when she arrived. She had to admit that she was nervous. What if she was wrong about her conclusions? What if there was something more sinister happening? 

When the elevator doors opened, she didn't know what she expected, but it wasn't really this.

He was playing the piano and he seemed relaxed. None of the tension from the afternoon was left in his posture and he looked like it he did on an ordinary day. She had expected a bit more drama to be honest after the day they had.

He seemed to notice that she had arrived since he ended his piano session. The tension in his body returned from one second to the next and he turned to her. 

*****************************************

When he heard the elevator arrive, he finished up his song. It was almost done when she had arrived. She always had good timing. He tried to brace himself for the conversation and touched the badge he had put into his pocket to make sure that it was still there. 

"Hello, detective."

Taking the almost empty bottle, he stood up and turned fully towards her. 

"Can I offer you a drink?"

Chloe shook her head. 

"No, thank you. I still have to drive home."

"Hmm...", he acknowledged her decision. "If you change your mind, the bar is open. Have a seat then." 

He put the last of the whiskey in his glass and put the empty bottle behind his bar, right next to the file with his badges. From her point of view, she couldn't see them. He would get them out, when he was ready, or she needed more proof than the badge he already carried with him. 

Looking at the elevator, he decided that he didn't want to be interrupted, so he went to it and shut it down. Knowing that he was playing for time, he returned to his place at the bar. Deciding against grabbing another bottle, he turned around only with the glass in hand.

Chloe had sat down on his sofa and he contemplated where to sit. She recognised his struggle and tapped on the place next to her. Wrangling with himself, he finally sat down next to her. They were facing each other. He fiddled with the glass, because he didn't know where to start. 

"So, you promised me answers."

The look she gave him took the sting out of her words.

"Yes, and I hope I can give them to you. What do you want to know?"

"How do you know Agent Smith?"

He had expected this question, so it didn't take him long to answer it.

"We worked together."

She didn't look surprised, which confused him. He had expected a bit more of a reaction, but she seemed to have expected his answer. Did she already know? Had she figured it out? He always knew she was an amazing detective. He probably had given her enough clues to work it out. He couldn't help but be proud of her.

He put the glass on the table and took out his badge. Looking down at the black leather with his shield, he prepared himself and gave it to her. He tried very hard to mask his nerves and kept the shaking in his hand to a minimum.

She took it from him and handled it with a lot of care. She must recognise the shape and after she took it, she opened it up to look at his badge with his picture and the name "Sam Johnson" attached.

*****************************************

Cradling his badge, Chloe ran her finger over the shield. She knew that he was finally telling her the truth. It looked similar to her own badge even though the seal was a different one. The picture next to the NSA emblem was of a younger Lucifer. It looked like an ordinary badge, but it wasn’t. Not for her. This one had a picture of Lucifer with a different name next to it.

“I wanted to tell you before, but I didn’t know how.”

He was once again fidgeting and didn’t look into her eyes. His behaviour was unusual. His whole posture was not what she was used to. Where was the suave club owner that always had a quip? She was not yet sure how she should react to this revelation. She didn’t know why she believed him so easily, but she had anticipated his answer and didn’t question it. She knew that he could be showing her a forgery with an even more elaborate lie attached to it, but she was sure that if she ran the badge number it would come back as correct. Normally, she should be angry that he had lied to her, but she couldn’t be. He was finally trusting her enough to tell her the truth and she didn’t want to make him regret opening up to her, since it looked like it was very difficult for him to do so.

She needed to get her brain back on track.

“You worked for the NSA.”, now she was stating the obvious, but she wanted to get this right.

“Sometimes.”

What kind of answer was that?

“Sometimes!?”

He flinched. Okay, maybe this came out a bit too reproachful.

“How can you _sometimes_ work for the NSA?”

“I have never worked under the authority of the NSA. It was always as a cover.”

She was not sure were this was going, but she had decided at the beginning that she would stay until she got her answers.

“A cover for what?”

Now, this was going to be it. He took another drink. She could see him hesitate.

“I was recruited many years ago by an organisation which works internationally. They have arrangements with many agencies and there are agents worldwide. This was one of my many identities. I used it whenever I had to work for the NSA or any of its affiliations. Amenadiel was my handler at the time.“

He looked up at her. “You met him today. Agent Smith.”, he clarified. “He called me Sam; short for Samael. That was my codename as Amenadiel is his. Sometimes he called me Sammy instead. Just to rile me up.”

There was an expression on his face she couldn’t really identify. But before she could try to work it out, he continued.

“I retired about 5 years ago, came to L.A. and opened up LUX.”

She sensed that he had skipped some parts in that explanation. Didn’t this sound farfetched? An international organisation that was working in the background with agents all over the world? This sounded like the plot of the latest spy novel. She couldn’t explain it, but she actually believed him. _Okay, you lost it. Great!_

_You’re a detective. Work it out. Make sense of it._

“You worked for the NSA sometimes, but you were never an agent for them, and you still have a badge?”

“You saw Amenadiel today. He came with NSA credentials and nobody questioned it. They are in the system and it’s a real badge. It’s easier that way. If the situation calls for it, you’re NSA or another one of your alphabet agencies. If something happens in Britain for example, it’s the MI6 more often than not.”

He stood up and went to the bar. After rummaging for a couple of seconds, he returned with another badge and a file and handed her the badge. _MI6 credentials_. She wouldn’t be able to say if they were authentic, but they looked real enough to her.

“What is in the file?”

“My official record with the NSA.”

He handed it to her, and she opened the file. It was standard paperwork, some parts redacted and with a “Top Secret” stamp on top. It included the picture she had just seen on his credentials. She skimmed the record, while he continued.

“This was my cover identity for the NSA as a liaison with MI6. It comes close to the truth for my last couple of years on active duty.”

Now, this was a question that she had already wracked her brain about.

“Why did you retire?”

“My last workplace was a prison. It was suitably named _Hell_. It’s where I met Maze. She worked there as well. I was tired of seeing human depravities all the time. So, I decided to leave. In there, my nickname was _The Devil_. That’s why I built my new identity of _Lucifer Morningstar_ here. I thought it was a fun idea at the time and I could behave how wanted without raising an eyebrow. You know, people in L.A. are used to so many eccentricities, that this is probably one of the only cities where people accept a name like that without a blink and overlook some of my behaviour patterns. It became easy at some point. I was used to playing a role, this one was at least more fun.”

His response also answered her question about his identity. He was obviously not mentally unstable and thought himself the devil. _Thank goodness for small mercies._ And Maze was apparently a part of it. _His demon._ Thankfully not literally.

Even though she had gotten some answers, she was still missing a very important part.

“What is it about this case? You knew something was up at the crime scene. Why didn’t you say something?”

He once again hesitated for a few seconds.

“I…”, he took his glass once again and emptied it in one large gulp. She was once again worried. Until now, he had answered all her questions without hesitation, but he didn’t want to talk about this. She knew she should tell him that it was okay, he didn’t have to tell her, but she couldn’t do it. She wanted to know the whole truth.

*****************************************

He had always known that she would want to know, and it was inevitable that she would find out about his connection to the case. Here was his moment of truth. He took a deep breath.

“I recognised the marks on Agent Richards back. I know them from a previous case.”

She had accepted his answers until know without questioning them. He had thought it would be more complicated to convince her. Why did she believe him so easily? She had seemed to have already worked most of it out and she had only needed a confirmation from him. But he knew that some of it was hard to believe. Maybe she was giving him the benefit of the doubt? Or was she just trying to work out if he needed a psych evaluation. He had had his fair share of those.

He was trying to work up the courage to tell her the last part that he kept from her. The part, that he didn’t want anybody to know. His connection to the case. His last case as an active field agent.

He knew that she had figured out that there was still something missing and she was waiting for him to tell her. He had promised himself that he would tell her the whole truth and that was what he was doing now.

“The reason I recognised them is that I have the same marks.”

He felt her sharp inhale. Looking up again, he saw her eyes widen. She was probably once again picturing the deep gashes in the victim’s back.

“I had an assignment and I got captured. They were looking for information that I was unwilling to give them. It was my last field assignment due to the injuries I sustained. After I got rescued, I was transferred to work at the prison I just told you about.“

He was giving her the toned-down version of events. He didn’t want to think about what had happened while he was captured. He had tried to leave that part of his past behind and he didn’t want to relive it again. He had long since accepted that he would always carry the scars with him; the physical as well as the emotional ones.

Her hands were reaching for his and he didn’t know what to do.

“Ella said that …”, she didn’t go on. She clasped his hands in her own.

He wasn’t entirely sure how the sentence was supposed to end, but he could imagine. Ella had told them at the crime scene that the wounds in the victim’s back were a probable cause of death. It was sadly a possibility. The blood loss from those wounds had almost been his own undoing. The doctors had told him that the wounds on his back were so deep that he was lucky that he had not been paralyzed by them, but they had left large scars that were still sensitive.

She was once again reaching for him and motioned for him to stand up. He complied with her wish. When they were both standing, facing each other, she reached for his shirt. Normally he would have had an innuendo ready, but he couldn’t get it past his lips. She stopped when her hands were on his first button. She looked up at him and wordlessly asked for his permission.

He didn’t know what to do. This was his last barrier. Could he show them to her?  He nodded.

She opened every button in a slow motion. Under any other circumstances, this would have felt sexual, but in that moment it didn’t. When she opened the last button and moved the shirt from his shoulders, he shrugged out of it and looked down upon her while the shirt fell to the ground forgotten.

Hesitantly, he turned around. She inhaled sharply. He knew they were horrendous, and he didn’t understand how she would want to look at them. He wanted to turn back to face her, but she stopped him with a hand on his arm.

For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then he felt it. Her hand hesitated over his right scar. She wanted to touch his scars. Trembling, he waited for her. When she finally touched the scar, he couldn’t keep calm. In a move that could be characterised as too fast to be humanly possible, he turned around and grabbed her hand.

“No. Please don’t.”

He knew he was pleading with her, but he would break down if this was to go on.

“Okay.” Chloe nodded and he released her hand.

He needed to centre himself again. He went to grab another bottle of alcohol. If he would keep this up, he might actually get drunk. Turning back to Chloe, he saw her still standing there. She had bend down and retrieved his shirt. With a mumbled thanks, he took it from her after putting down the bottle next to his glass and put it back on, not concerning himself with buttoning it back up.

In that time, she had moved back to the sofa to give him more space for which he was grateful. He poured himself another drink and took a seat next to her.

They stayed in silence. He had finally told her the truth and she was trying to come to terms with it.

“I’m sorry.” He couldn’t believe that he heard correctly.

“I’m sorry this happened to you. I can’t imagine all the horrible things you had to live with. But I’m here now. I want to help. If there is anything I can do…”, she was smiling at him, self-conscious.

He was flabbergasted. How could she just accept it all?

“I… thank you.”

“You know, this explains quite a lot actually. Even though you could follow procedure now and then. It’s not like you don’t know the rules.”

He gave a short laugh and looked at her eyes. Her honest smile always lighted them up in the most fascinating fashion. He could look at her all day. He was always delighted when she was happy.

“Why should I? It’s much more fun this way.”

And they were back to bickering like nothing happened. Both smiling at each other like idiots.

“I could really use a drink now.” He was halfway to the bar for a second glass before she could finish her sentence, which gave her another reason for laughing. “Only one though.”

After he returned and poured her a drink, both of them took their glasses and clinked them together.

*****************************************

After savouring her first sip, she turned back to him.

“Does this mean I can actually trust you with a gun?”

“Of course. My marksmanship is outstanding.”

“And there is the ego I was looking for.”

They were both laughing. She was fascinated by how open and happy he looked. It seemed like there was a heavy weight lifted of his shoulders. He had finally told her the truth. She wasn’t even angry with him that he hadn’t done so at the beginning. She understood his reasoning for keeping his past a secret, especially since he was probably not even allowed to tell her at all.

A lot had changed during the evening, but she was now surer than ever that she could trust him with her life. They could move forward now.

After exchanging a couple more quips, he made them both dinner. She was more than surprised by his culinary skills and made him promise to cook for her again. Since Dan had Trixie for the night, she stayed much longer than she would have, but they both had a lot of fun. He told her stories of a few of his funnier assignments.

When it had gotten very late, she had to leave. They both had to work in the morning.

After thanking him again for dinner and telling her the truth, he unlocked the elevator for her. She turned towards him and gave him a hug.

“Thank you.” She went towards the elevator and after pushing the button for the ground floor, she turned towards him “I’ll see you tomorrow, partner.”

While the elevator doors were closing, she could see him smile in return. “See you tomorrow, detective.”

This had turned out better than she had hoped, and she was looking forward to working with him in the future.

**************************************

He had hoped she would accept him after telling her, but this surpassed his best-case scenario by far. She still wanted to work with him as a partner. They could move forward and tomorrow they would receive a new case and they would work side by side. Amenadiel would hopefully close the case and neither the agency nor the organisation would bother him again. Maybe something was finally going his way. Or was that too much to hope for?

**_THE END_ **

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> This is my first attempt at writing fanfiction and it's not beta read, so please be gentle. Constructive critisism is welcomed though.


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